May 12, 2026, 1:00 p.m. EDT
Students from universities around the world Russia are promised high salaries, no front-line service and a return to their studies within a year with free tuition if they join Russia’s new drone force, intended to give Moscow an advantage against Ukraine. significant advances in drone warfare.
But human rights activists told NBC News the offer could be a trap that puts students at the center of the situation. fighting in Ukrainerisking being drafted into dead-end front-line infantry units until the end of the war.
The intense recruitment campaign has accelerated since January, reflecting the increasingly crucial role of drone warfare in conflictwhich is now in its fifth year. Russia is suffering heavy losses and U.S.-led peace talks have stalled as the focus shifts to the conflict. Middle East.
Andrey, a student from the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, told NBC News that he attended an event at his university in February in which a man from the military enlistment office as well as a veteran of what Russia calls its “special military operation” spoke to students, all young men, about the new drone force and its personnel needs.
They were told about all sorts of benefits of membership, said Andrei, who did not want his last name, age or the name of his university published for fear of potential reprisals if he spoke about a sensitive wartime security topic.
“It was irritating because it was forced,” he said in a Zoom interview last month, adding that no one told them about the potential downsides of signing a contract.
“No one wants to join,” Andrey said. “No one is interested. Everyone understands that it’s not what they say it is.”
A Russian soldier flies a drone on the Lyman battlefield in eastern Ukraine on April 28.Sergei Bobylev / Sputnik via APIn January, the Russian Defense Ministry announcement that he recruited into the drone forces, which were formed in November 2025 as a new branch of the Russian military, saying it was looking for people with experience in drone piloting, aircraft modeling, technology, electronics and radio engineering. Good “analytical, vestibular and fine motor skills, as well as computer knowledge” would be a plus, the ministry said.
A recruiting video the Defense Department posted on Telegram last week focused on the “honest account” of a former student who is “now mastering drone operations as a contract pilot.” The video features video game-style shots of a remotely piloted drone, while rock music plays in the background. “I thought our homeland needed young, agile specialists,” the man said in the video.
Ukraine and Russia are engaged in a fierce competition for drone dominance on an ever-changing battlefield. Ukraine focuses on cutting-edge drones technology and combat tests to give him the upper hand and help contain Moscow’s largest army. As drones have increasingly been used to kill on the battlefield, their pilots have become key targets for both sides – a reality that is absent from recruiting materials.
Danila, a student from Moscow, told NBC News in a Zoom interview last month that he was strongly encouraged by his university’s dean’s office to attend an event with a “potential employer,” which turned out to be the Defense Ministry.
Danila, who like Andrey did not want to reveal his last name, age or the name of his university out of concern for his safety, said he refused to attend. “I’m studying humanities, so it was weird for me to hear this offer,” he said.
Danila and Andrey said posters on campus and on their universities’ websites promoted the drone force recruitment drive.
On January 26, residents of St. Petersburg walk under a billboard promoting contract military service in the Russian army’s unmanned systems forces.Anton Vaganov / ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization reservists at the end of 2022, an extremely unpopular measure which led to a mass exodus of men who feared being drafted into the war. Since then, the Kremlin has refrained from announcing further mobilization efforts.
But what has happened to Russian students in recent months amounts to a “quiet mobilization” by the government, according to Grigory Sverdlin of the Idite Lesom organization which helps Russians avoid military service in Ukraine. In an article on Last month, Sverdlin said his group had been approached by students at universities and colleges across the country.
The Kremlin has sought to dispel what it sees as “myths and rumors” about the recruitment drive, with Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Goremykin saying last month: “We have neither the intention nor the ability to force students to take part in the special military operation.”
The Department of Defense issued this public statement after NBC News requested comment on the nature of the student contracts but did not receive a response.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month that an “offer” for those with the required skills to join the drone force applied equally to everyone, including students.
The student information portal Groza estimates as of last month, at least 269 Russian universities and colleges had encouraged their students to serve in drone forces, including those in occupied regions of Ukraine. There is no official data on the number of students recruited so far.
Timur Tukhvatullin of Molnia, a human rights project that helps Russian students defend their right to education, told NBC News that their lawyers have been involved in cases where school administrators pressure students to sign a contract, but the extent of pressure students face can vary widely. “Some might be more ideologically charged and, perhaps, they would start to believe that they don’t mind sending their students to war,” he added.
NBC News examined posts on the websites and social media accounts of more than a dozen Russian universities and colleges, most of which had a virtually identical message: Sign up to serve in the drone forces for money and other benefits, but more importantly, to be your country’s hero.
The Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok promised its students in a message an extended academic leave and free education upon returning from the war. on its websitewhich claimed that students could earn up to 5.5 million rubles (about $74,500) in the first year of service alone, a substantial sum for young people in the region. He also promised a financial bonus from the university itself. In Russia, the average annual salary hovers around 1.25 million rubles, or about $17,000.
Like many others, Moscow State University of Civil Engineering emphasized in its online memo that its students would sign a “special contract” with the Defense Ministry, while Russian State Hydrometeorological University in St. Petersburg promised that students who signed up would “carry out remote combat missions” while receiving bonuses from the local government.
A young Russian soldier works on a Vampire drone in Lyman, eastern Ukraine, April 28.Sergei Bobylev / Sputnik via APMeanwhile, a recruitment banner on the website of the Ural College of Applied Arts and Design featured an image of a drone pilot with glowing eyes.
Artyom Klyga, a human rights lawyer with the Conscientious Objectors Movement, which helps those who refuse military service, told NBC News that the promises made to the students are not based on Russian law.
There is no guarantee that students who enroll will serve for just one year, he said, nor can the Defense Department guarantee that students will actually serve in the drone forces rather than being forced to join the infantry or any other force.
The Defense Ministry said last month that “coercion” to sign a contract would not be tolerated and that those who sign up for the drone forces would not be transferred to another military unit against their will.
Klyga said his group advises students to avoid signing a military contract at all costs, because once that happens, “they literally become the subject of the Department of Defense.”
“This pressure will only get worse,” he said. “We will face this problem all year round and probably until 2027 if the war does not end.”
